Musk backs Huang, warns Nvidia of business fallout

Elon Musk has warned that Nvidia could lose several important business deals following the departure of its former chief executive Jensen Huang, saying many major agreements depended on personal trust rather than formal contracts.

In a post on X on Saturday, the billionaire said Huang had managed Nvidia’s supply chain exceptionally well and maintained strong relationships with business partners. He suggested that some critical agreements could fall apart without Huang’s personal involvement.

Musk said his own dealings with the former Nvidia chief had always been reliable, particularly when it came to securing computing capacity and speeding up the delivery of components.

He explained that Huang consistently honoured his commitments, even when formal purchase orders were completed at a later stage. According to Musk, several important business arrangements were based on a handshake and personal assurances rather than written agreements.

The SpaceX and Tesla chief also expressed support for Huang’s return, saying he would sign a petition seeking his reinstatement. However, it remained unclear whether he was referring to an internal campaign reportedly discussed within the company.

Huang’s reported departure on Thursday has created uncertainty at Nvidia, one of the world’s most valuable technology companies, amid allegations concerning his personal relationships and possible foreign intelligence links.

The controversy intensified after reports emerged about an alleged relationship between Huang and Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based company Megaspeed. US authorities had reportedly been investigating her connections.

Nvidia’s board had launched an inquiry into whether its then-chief executive had become the target of a foreign intelligence operation. However, US intelligence officials have reportedly differed over the strength of evidence linking Alice Huang to China’s Ministry of State Security.

According to reports, intelligence gathered so far has not established that she was acting as a Chinese spy. Nvidia has not publicly commented on the allegations surrounding the investigation.

Huang’s exit has raised questions about the future direction of the $4 trillion chipmaker and its wider role in the artificial intelligence industry.

Under his leadership, Nvidia became a dominant force in AI computing while investing heavily in cloud service providers, technology suppliers and major artificial intelligence companies.

The company’s board is now considering potential candidates to take over its leadership. British chipmaker Arm Holdings chief executive Rene Haas has emerged as a possible contender, according to reports.

Haas previously spent seven years at Nvidia, where he held senior positions overseeing computing products, before joining Arm in 2013.

Meanwhile, Nvidia’s chief financial officer Colette Kress is serving as interim chief executive. The board has said it is selecting an executive search firm and has not formally approached any potential candidates.

Other names being discussed include Nvidia veteran Ian Buck, AMD chief executive Lisa Su, Micron chief Sanjay Mehrotra, Marvell chief Matt Murphy and Apple’s hardware chief Johny Srouji.

Former Apple chief executive Tim Cook has also been mentioned as a possible option after US President Donald Trump floated his name.